let's look at mitch mcconnell, the leader of the republicans in the senate. he's got a reelection in 2014. does he cooperate because he's up for reelection or does he not cooperate because he's worried about a conservative primary challenge? john boehner, the house leader, he might want to cooperate but he's got 230 plus republicans all of whom are taking a different message from this election, some of whom were reelected because they said they don't want to cooperate. the president's motivation, he wants to get this so-called fiscal cliff out of the way so he can work on the bigger issues nancy talked about: energy, immigration. so that's what motivates him. in the end, the players didn't change. the question is whether their motivations did. >> pelley: john, thank you very much. the big story in the northeast wasn't politics today but the nor'easter that just blew in. the same places that were swamped by sandy are getting lashed tonight by high winds, rain, snow, and an angry sea that threatens to flood the shoreline all over again. more evacuations have be